I Don't Dance
by Casie01
Summary: Songfic based on Lee Brice's song "I Don't Dance" - Hotch swore he'd never find love again, that was until she waltzed into his life.


**This story is based on the Lee Brice Song, "I Don't Dance". I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it, the more I listened to it I got the idea for this story. Hotch seems like the time of guy that doesn't like to dance but would do it for the right person. Hope you enjoy, please read and review.**

**I don't own Criminal Minds or the song "I Don't Dance".**

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Perfect, adjective, Latin in origin; meaning to have all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be. Hotch wasn't a linguist like Blake, he didn't have an eidetic memory like Reid; but he knew no word could more appropriately describe today – to describe her.

Hotch had sworn this day would never happen, after Haley he wasn't the kind of man to get married again. Before her he had only dated one other woman after Haley's death, Beth. He had cared deeply for Beth but he knew he could never give her what she needed, what she deserved. He didn't love her, he couldn't marry her. They parted ways and he promised himself that was it, he wasn't the kind of man that love came to; he'd focus on his son and his team, the two things he loved unconditionally in this world.

Rossi was to blame for today, for the self-professed bachelor finally opening his heart back up. It was two years ago, the team was back from another case; they hadn't been home in nearly three weeks. Their case load just seemed to keep growing; serial killers couldn't seem to take a day off. The BAU Unit Chief had instantly stored himself away in his office, the files on his desk demanding his attention. His old boss and mentor was the only person capable of tearing him away from the FBI Headquarters.

_The bar was half empty, for a Wednesday night it was a decent crowd. His BAU team had already commandeered a table in the back. Aaron was half way through his third beer when she changed his life._

_He couldn't tell if it was the sheer exhaustion or the beers, but he knew he was looking at the most beautiful woman in the world. She had the most soulful eyes, they were a deep blue; like the ocean. Her smile didn't seem to have an end, he wondered what it was that could make her smile so endless. She rested her small hand against his calloused fingers, her skin as smooth has he imagined. The moment their bodies met, even in such a un-intimate way, he had felt a spark he had never felt before._

_"**Come Dance with me**." Her voice was like a drug, he wanted to hear it again to never hear her stop talking. He wanted nothing more than to lead her to the dance floor, to twirl her around; to hear her voice, to see her smile, to hear her laugh._

_He wanted all those things, but more than that he didn't want to hurt her, to be the cause of another woman's pain. "**I don't dance; it's just not my style**." He hated to see her smile fade just a bit, she shrugged her shoulders, "**Maybe next time**." She winked at him and walked back to the dance floor._

_Hotch watched her the rest of the night, fascinated by her every move wishing it was him holding her close, hearing her laugh in his ears, feeling her soft skin against his. Instead he sat and watched, plastering a fake smile on his face throwing back one too many beers._

_It was odd feeling he felt, as he watched her dance with other men. First it was Derek, the player of their team. Then it was Rossi, Hotch knew he had been a ladies man but had no idea the old man could still move that way. The feeling deepened as a strange man cut in dancing across the floor with her. As he whispered in her ear, placing a peck of his lips on her cheek Hotch realized what this feeling was; he was jealous._

_The hour grew later, the bar started to empty a small crowd remaining as the midnight hour grew nearer. Rossi bought the team another round of beers, promising to open his home to the team; no one could or would be driving tonight. Rossi handed his old friend the frosty mug, "**She's beautiful isn't she**?" Hotch stared at him dumbfounded, not realizing he had been so obvious in his infatuation. "**Go dance with her Aaron, don't let this chance pass you by**."_

_Hotch, for his incredible shooting skills, couldn't seem to pull the trigger this time. He watched her body move in time with the music as she danced with her friends. He finally gained the courage to join her on the floor when she was left alone on the floor swaying to the music._

_Pounding, he could feel his heart pounding as he made his way across the bar. "**Can I have this dance**?" His whispered in her ear as he put an arm around her waist. "**I thought you didn't dance? That it wasn't your style**?" She called him out on his earlier reservations._

_"**If you can forgive my two left feet, I think I could handle this one**." The slow country ballad played around them. Her smiled reached her eyes, she had been waiting for this, "**It's not the waltz Hotch, just spin me around the floor**." She hadn't known it then, they may not have danced the waltz that night but he knew in that moment she was dancing away with his heart._

His suit pressed, his tie straight, the rings safely tucked away, he was ready. He was ready for a lifetime with her; he stepped out of Rossi's house, taking a moment to appreciate everything the team had done for him and the woman he loved. Everything was perfect; there was that word again; perfect. It was a perfect day in May, the weather was perfect, and the setting was perfect. Their life together would be perfect, oh he knew there would be fights, nights when he would sleep on the couch, but because they would be together it would be perfect.

Hotch stood in front of the crowd, his best friend standing beside him. Rossi reminding him not to be nervous. The one emotion Hotch wasn't feeling was nervous, he knew she would walk down the aisle, that today they would promise to love each other forever. His back straighten as she turned the corner, her cornsilk hair flowing softly with the light breeze around them, her bright blue eyes matching the soft blue of the sky, and her smile; her smile reminded him of every reason he had fallen for her.

_First dates were always nerve racking, this one no different. Hotch surprised himself when he had been so forward as to ask her out, he was even more surprised when she said yes. Without reservation he balled his hand into a fist, knocking on her door. He wasn't met with her bright smile, but the scowl of her young son. At seven the boy had been tasked with becoming the man of their house, a role Hotch could tell he had easily fallen into. The boy was shooed away by a woman he called grandma. When the blonde woman descended the stairs, Hotch's attention was locked on her; the way she smiled, the way she moved, the way her eyes danced in the light._

_He had taken her to his favorite restaurant, Gadsby's Tavern in __Olde Towne Alexandria__. Walking into the dining room they had been transported back in time, modern time had slipped away to Colonial Virginia. Seated next to a window pointing out to an old street light, they ate dinner by dim candlelight, oblivious to the world around them._

_They sat there for hours talking about everything, talking about nothing. Hotch found himself opening up to her in ways he had never opened up before. With this woman he could be himself, he could talk about work, about his son, about his past. With her he didn't have to censor who he was the way he had to with Beth or even Haley._

_A light spring rain fell as they walked the two blocks to his car, they were huddled close to one another under his umbrella. His arm around her shoulder he could smell the soft lavender in her hair, it was intoxicating. As his SUV came into view, he cursed himself for not finding a spot just a little further away, he wasn't ready to pull away from her._

_Climbing into the driver's seat he looked over at her. Sitting under a street lamp her faced seamed to glow, more so than usual. He could see the small rain drops that had pooled on her eye lashes. He wanted to reach his hand out, to wipe them away, and to bring his lips in closer to hers. His body took over before his brain had time to step in, he could feel his hand reaching forward, towards her face. He convinced himself that the way her eyes twinkled she was craving his touch, before he could make contact his mind won out, rather than touching her soft features is hand was redirected, he was touching the hard cold plastic of the car stereo._

_With the monotonous sounds from his speakers her nose crinkled, "**News radio Hotch**?" She giggled and stared scanning through his presets. "**Really Hotch? Do you listen to anything but the news and sports**?" A shrug of the shoulders and a shy smile was his only response. As he backed the SUV out of the parking spot she quickly found her favorite radio station._

_Once again the air around them was filled with the soft sounds of a country song, "**You know I would never have pegged you as being such a country girl**." There it was again, it had gotten a laugh out of her, it was that drug he so desperately needed. "**Don't get me wrong, I can rock with the best of them. But, I did grow up in a small town you know. I spent many a Friday night line dancing with the best of them**." Her smile, always genuine always true, he loved to see her smile, but he loved it more when he was the one putting it there._

_"**Can you turn down here**?" Her hand pointed left, away from the road home. He wanted to question her, but if veering off the path meant he could spend more time with her he didn't care where she was taking him. He followed her directions, letting her take control of the rest of the night. "**Stop here, turn your lights off but leave the radio on**." She opened her door motioning for him to join her. He had been too entranced by her, he hadn't paid any attention to where they were._

_"**I think this is my favorite spot**." She whispered not wanting to disrupt the beauty around them. Hotch took in the view that surrounded them. They had stopped along the banks of the Potomac River, from their spot they had a perfect view of the Capital lit up. They sat on the bumper of his SUV staring at the city, listening to the music play softly in the background._

_A small shiver from her body found his jacket being pulled off and then wrapped around her shoulders, the smell of her perfume would linger on that jacket for months. "**Do you recognize this song**?" Of course he didn't, he didn't know one country song from the next, and they all sounded the same as far as he was concerned. "**It's the song we danced to at the bar the other night**." He listened carefully, his ears making the connection between the song and how it had felt the first time he danced with her. "**It's our song Hotch**."_

_Pushing himself off the SUV he stood in front of her, holding his hand out to her. "**Dance with me**?" She smiled back at him, "**Aren't you worried about those two left feet of yours**?"_

_Pulling her next to him, they swayed slowly in time with the music. "**I don't care, I'd do anything with you anywhere**," he whispered in her ear. Alone on the banks of the Potomac River, the moon overhead, they danced as one. As the song ended he pulled her just a little closer, lowering his lips to hers. Her lips were like honey, her taste like nothing he had ever experienced, and he knew she had danced away with his heart._

Their first kiss had lasted less than six seconds, but it took less time for that for him to know. In less time than it takes to breath he knew he had fallen for her, that love had found him where he had least expected it.

For two years he fell deeper and deeper in love with her. It had been two years of falling for each other, two years of dancing. He had watched as she stood in the middle of his living room teaching his eleven year old son how to dance before his first School Dance. Her laughter filled the halls of the house they shared while she showed her own son how they danced in the 70's. And, late at night they would stand alone holding each other; he would twirl her around the living room, to a song only they could hear.

The man who claimed to have two left feet had allowed her to dance away with his heart. It was because of her that the walls he had built around himself, and his son, had come crashing down. One dance started it all and with one dance he was going to show her how much he loved her.

The wedding was over, the vows were promised, it had all been perfect. Now Hotch waited, holding his breath for this moment, for the first perfect dance of their life together. Rossi's voice called out, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm pleased to introduce, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Hotchner."

The guests stood at their tables as the couple walked out to the dance floor. Hotch could feel his heart pounding as he turned to her, ready for the first dance of the rest of their lives. "_May I have this Dance_?" He whispered in her ear, the same way he had two years ago. "_Always_." She smiled resting her head on his shoulders.

A young man with a guitar walked onto the stage and played the soft melody of their song.

_I don't dance, But here I am _

_Spinning you around and around in circles_

_It Ain't my style, but I don't care_

_I'd do anything with you anywhere_

_Yes, you got me in the palm of your hand_

_Cause I don't dance_

Softly so that only she could hear Hotch sang the words from the first song they danced to in her ear. As the song ended he held her just a second longer, "_JJ, love's never come my way, but you waltzed away with my heart_."


End file.
